This isn’t a super hands-on recipe. You’ll be building layers, not incorporating all of the ingredients together.
Sauté your aromatics until they’re fragrant. Right in the Instant Pot, cook the onion and garlic in some oil until they’re soft and translucent. You know they’re releasing their flavors when you can smell the mouth-watering aroma.
Deglaze the pot. Season with salt and pepper, and use the chicken broth to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. That’s where all the flavor is that you’ll want to incorporate into the dish.
Layer the casserole. The key to this step is to resist the urge to stir all the ingredients together. I know it’s tempting, but don’t do it! Start with a layer of uncooked noodles. Then, gently spread the condensed soup on top. Follow that with a layer of tuna, and slowly pour the half-and-half over top of everything.
Set the Instant Pot and let it cook. Seal the device and set it manually to high pressure for 3 minutes. Once it’s finished cooking, you can perform a quick release.
Garnish and serve. Open up the lid, and add in the peas and shredded cheese. Give it all a thorough mix. Garnish with fried onions (or crushed potato chips) and parsley, and get ready to dig in!
Tips and Tricks
Crispy fried onions add a rich, salty flavor and crunchy texture to the dish. If you want a more traditional flavor, use crushed Ritz crackers instead. Or try adding potato chip crumbles!
Place a kitchen towel over the valve (tent it above the valve so it doesn’t actually touch or hinder the release). This helps to avoid tuna liquid from spraying all over your kitchen during the quick release.
Let the casserole sit for 5 minutes or so before serving it to give the peas enough time to heat up.
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